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Wyoming Business Tips for May 13-May 19

May 7, 2012 — A weekly look at Wyoming business questions from the Wyoming
Small Business Development Center (WSBDC), part of WyomingEntrepreneur.Biz, a
collection of business assistance programs at the University of Wyoming.

By Mark Atkinson, WSBDC regional director

"Are websites really going away? I just took a class and the
instructor told me that. And is there anything new in technology that may
replace smart phones? What's coming next?" Austin, Kemmerer

Self-named social media gurus who travel through our communities
and tell us to burn our websites since Facebook, Twitter and Foursquare will
save us do not, in my opinion, really get it.

Why? For one reason, when people use their smart phones to
buy something, where do they think they are shopping? The answer is websites
(and apps of course, many of which interface with website systems and their
databases).

Social media is and has always been mainly about keeping up
with friends and family, not buying and selling. That is not to say there are
not other popular uses, but commerce does not seem to be one of them.

Mobile commerce is huge. A new study by Mobile Commerce (of
course, the very name hints of bias) tells us that, sometime in 2014, more than
half of sales on the web will stem from smart phones. That is a big claim.

Yet, we do so much on mobile devices now that shopping is a
natural function, along with using GPS when going places; looking for a new
job; checking the weather; teaching children on certain subjects; checking to
see what the line wait is for "Pirates of the Caribbean;" and even web
conferencing with Skype -- all from an iPhone.

And many of these functions are facilitated by websites.

So, to answer your other question: What, if anything, will
replace smart phones?

To me, this is just fun speculation. But Google does not
think so. Speaking of Google, search for "Google Glass" and "Google
Goggles." The former is hardware and the latter is software. The photo of
Google Glass will blow your mind. It's interesting, but is it going to reach
critical mass?

Google Glass is a set of glasses that has a computer in it,
with a tiny screen and a camera. You can point the camera (no kidding) at
something and Google Goggles (the software) will tell you what it is, or how it
is.

So why would a Wyoming small business care about something that
seems so Sharper Image-ish? Because, in the same way we use visual branding to
tell people our story, we will, someday, undoubtedly need to tell our small
business story visually. A device like this will attract consumers to it.

The WSBDC is a partnership of the U.S. Small Business
Administration, the Wyoming Business Council and the University of Wyoming. To
ask a question, call 1-800-348-5194, email wsbdc@uwyo.edu or write 1000 E.
University Ave., Dept. 3922, Laramie, WY, 82071-3922.